This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Uppity Neighbors Won't Let Future Mortician Park Her Hearse On Apartment Property
A hearse-driving, disabled mortuary student has been told by her apartment complex that she cannot park in the spot her family has paid for.
Samantha Kidner, 18, is just your average college student, with Game of Thrones posters on her wall and ambitions for the future. Except she drives a hearse and owns a shiny black casket, and her new neighbors at the Lorenzo, a luxury apartment complex in South L.A., can't handle it.
Kidner studies mortuary science at USC and moved into the Lorenzo last month, according to KTLA. She has a dream she shares with her twin sister that one day, they'll open a mortuary together.
The twins also suffer from a spinal disorder that can cause them to stumble and fall, so Kidner has a handicapped decal on her hearse. Kidner has undergone five brain surgeries as a result of her condition.
Even though her family has paid for Kidner's parking spot and its listed on the lease, they say the Lorenzo has decided she can't park there. Her mother, Denise, says her daughter is being discriminated against.
Sure, her interests may be a little macabre, but that's what makes her unique. The other tenants, many of them fellow USC students, however, aren't fond of her morbid charm. They're calling her hearse "spooky" and "scary," saying that she shouldn't be allowed to have it at the apartment. A worker at the complex told KTLA that many of them saw Kinder's hearse accessory, a shiny black casket, when she was moving in and did not like it. The complex reportedly asked her to move the casket from the balcony to inside her apartment.
Kidner says that the apartment has suggested that she park her hearse at the nearby Children's Orthopedic Hospital, which is quite possibly a creepier solution than just telling her fellow tenants to grow up and learn to live with people who have different tastes than them.
Sponsored message
Someone please gives these twins a reality show.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
